David Hume
‘The Enlightenment’ and its impact on medicine
Choosing what to believe
Do you believe what you are told by
others? Do you like to test the facts for
yourself? These questions are important
in understanding a period of history known
as ‘The Enlightenment’.
‘The Enlightenment’
‘The Enlightenment’ was a time when new
systems of thought, based on the
application of reason and observation of
evidence, were championed. Although the
period we have come to know as the
Enlightenment occurred around the 18
th
century, its seeds were sown much earlier.
For example, accepted religious systems
of belief had already been challenged by
scientists such as Galileo Galilei. Galileo,
building on the work of Copernicus, and
using telescopes to observe the
movements of the planets, concluded that
the Earth was not the centre of the
universe. Some parts of the Catholic
Church considered this heretical, as the
bible stated that the Earth was immovable
and fixed in the heavens. Even though
Galileo had his supporters in the Church,
he was eventually forced to recant. Some
of his works were banned and he was put
under house arrest.
In Galileo’s story we can see an example
of one of the key debates that
characterised the Enlightenment. Should
our view of the universe be informed by
investigation and observation or faith in
some long respected authority?
Evidence v. Authority
The Enlightenment saw bold challenges to
accepted authorities. Many thinkers openly
challenged teachings of the church. One
such figure was
David Hume, a
Scottish philosopher.
Amongst many other
things, Hume
challenged biblical
accounts of miracles,
stating that, as they
clearly violated the
‘laws of nature’, they
were highly
improbable.
The period also saw great political
upheavals as nations wrestled with the
relationship between citizen, church and
state. The French Revolution, where
supporters of democracy sought to
overthrow the rule of monarchy, is often
cited as one of the key events in the
Enlightenment.
The Storming of the Bastille – often cited as the
beginning of The French Revolution
